Another posterior pituitary hormone

A recent paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that that the posterior pituitary (neurohypophysis ) secretes another hormone besides antidiuretic hormone (ADH; vasopressin) and oxytocin (OT).  It is the hormone secretin.

Secretin is already known to be secreted from the intestinal lining, having a variety of effects in regulating stomach and pancreatic function during the digestive process.  New findings indicate, however, that secretin is also secreted by the posterior pituitary.

Neurohypophysial release of secretin is triggered by plasma hyperosmolality—as in dehydration of the body. Secretin then promotes the expression and release of ADH, which in turn promotes water conservation by the kidney.  Secretin also appears to have direct water-conserving effects in the kidney as well.

Want to know more?

Secretin as a neurohypophysial factor regulating body water homeostasis
Jessica Y. S. Chu, et al. 
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science  September 15, 2009 vol. 106 no. 37 15961-15966 
doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903695106
[Abstract of the recent paper.]

Highlights From The Literature
Physiology 2009 24:322-324
doi:10.1152/physiol.00037.2009
[Summary of the significance of this discovery.] 

Click here for a FREE 3D see-through image of the pituitary's location that you can use in your course.

Too late for cadaver class!

I had hoped to tell you all about a great new course offered by HAPS Institute . . . Anatomy of the Abdomen and Thorax . . . but it filled up in less than half a day!

Lucky for us (and the dozen or so folks on the waitlist), this is the first in a series of several courses that center around a weekend workshop in a cadaver lab with expert dissectors.

The Anatomy of the Abdomen and Thorax course held in February in San Diego is just the first in a series of courses that will be held at various locations in North America in the coming months and years.

These courses carry three graduate credits from the University of Washington (Seattle) biology department. All HAPS-I courses are meant for folks who already teach anatomy and physiology (high-school through graduate levels) fill in their background in various topics within human biology . . . or simply to brush up on the lastest concepts.  Even if you already have a graduate degree and "don't need the credit" you'll find these courses to be both fun and useful.

All HAPS-I courses also involve emerging methods of active learning and thus showcase methods of teaching and learning that participants can adapt into their own courses.

Want to know more about HAPS-I and its courses? Click here for more information.

However, when new HAPS-I courses open up . . . ACT QUICKLY because they DO fill quickly!